One trick to cooking is knowing how to get the most flavor out of your ingredients. For example, it’s common to toast rice, nuts, or seeds in a dry pan before using them in a recipe. Toasting brings out the essential oils and enhances the favor. Butter is another ingredient that has a secondary flavor profile. When you brown butter, you bring out a very nutty flavor. It’s like adding the flavor of nuts without the actual ingredient. Adding brown butter to a batter also slightly changes the texture. You end up with a whole grain, dense texture. It’s amazing!

Ingredients:

1 cup chocolate chips

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 stick unsalted butter

1 large egg

1 3/4 cups self-rising flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper muffin liners. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally, until it turns a nutty golden brown. Whisk the egg and slowly incorporate the butter into the egg. You want to only add a little butter at a time. Remember the butter is warm and adding it all at once will scramble the egg. By adding it in slowly you are tempering the egg and allowing it to come to the same temperature as the butter. Fold in the flour, chocolate chips, and sugars until it’s just combined; do not over mix. With an large spoon, scoop the batter evenly among the muffin tin cups. Bake in the center of the oven until golden brown and the tops spring back when pressed, about 25 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer the muffins to a rack to cool completely. Enjoy!